Biglaw

Donald Trump's Tax Lawyers Saying, 'Trump Who?' As IRS Changes Hands

Morgan Lewis is winding down its relationship with Trump's ventures.

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Screenshot NBC News

This picture forms the first half of an epic Biglaw “How it started” meme. Immediately before his inauguration, Donald Trump stacked up a pile of empty manila folders and made Morgan Lewis partner Sheri Dillon explain that Trump was placing all of his business in a trust. That the trust would be administered by his kids, thus defeating the purpose of a blind trust was an afterthought for Morgan Lewis, the firm that had advised on Trump’s taxes for years.

After the New York Times revealed a fortune built on shady exploitation of tax laws that forced Trump’s federal judge sister to resign before facing a damaging investigation, four years of Trump family holdings profiting off the government in ways that underscored the blind trust lie, and the New York AG’s office naming Dillon and Morgan Lewis as defendants in its Trump Organization probe, the firm seems to have decided that “Trump,” “taxes,” and “Morgan Lewis” are terms they don’t want to see in the same sentence. Even if some of the questionable moves predated the firm’s involvement.

And so we come to the “how it’s going” half of the meme:

A spokesperson for Morgan Lewis indicated Tuesday that it is working to wrap up its long-running tax work for the former president and his companies.

The American Lawyer suggests that Morgan Lewis hasn’t suffered the same blowback that Jones Day or Cleta Mitchell did because representing Trump’s business interests is a more palatable endeavor than trying to “overthrow democracy.” And not to diminish the extensive work Jones Day billed to its “voter suppression” matter number, Trump’s business and tax dealings shouldn’t get lost in a shuffle of empty folders. Taxpayer funds appear to have been redirected for his benefit, foreign entities pumped cash toward his interests in an effort to curry influence, and his charities increasingly appear to be empty shells. If none of this is illegal, it’s certainly not something a firm should want to get its name mixed up in.

And the “if” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

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So Morgan Lewis will say good bye to the Trumps after years of loyal service. They’ll still be in the headlines by dint of the existing probes, but they’ll begin the transition — now that Trump is out of office — to purging their firm reputation of its connection to the reality TV host.

But don’t cry because it’s over, smile that the firm banked massive revenue over the years.

Morgan Lewis Seeking to Cut Ties With Trump [American Lawyer]

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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